- How Was the Buddha Down-to-Earth? His Approach to Ritual
How was the Buddha a down-to-earth, pragmatic teacher? We will look at his views on some of the most important ritual practices of his day, and how he was skeptical of them.
- The Buddhist Nun Who Taught a Brahmin a Lesson
To begin I'll discuss how the Buddha was skeptical of certain brahminic ritual practices such as river bathing. Then I'll turn to the interesting story of an early Buddhist nun from a lowly background who gave a pointed lesson to a brahmin.
- Do Buddhists Believe in "Sin"?
Many people are attracted to Buddhism because it seems not to involve such notions as sin. I'll look at what sin means in the Western tradition, with an excursion into the first few Biblical Commandments. Then I'll turn to Buddhism and…
- Devotion in Early Buddhism
Many people pursue a devotional Buddhist practice. We will look at what the Buddha had to say about devotion, both in a general sense and with respect to himself.